Principal Software Engineer, Orders Ecosystem Platform

Since we opened our doors in 2009, the world of commerce has evolved immensely, and so has Square. After enabling anyone to take payments and never miss a sale, we saw sellers stymied by disparate, outmoded products and tools that wouldn't work together.
So we expanded into software and started building integrated, omnichannel solutions - to help sellers sell online, manage inventory, offer buy now, pay later functionality, book appointments, engage loyal buyers, and hire and pay staff. Across it all, we've embedded financial services tools at the point of sale, so merchants can access a business loan and manage their cash flow in one place. Afterpay furthers our goal to provide omnichannel tools that unlock meaningful value and growth, enabling sellers to capture the next generation shopper, increase order sizes, and compete at a larger scale.
Today, we are a partner to sellers of all sizes - large, enterprise-scale businesses with complex operations, sellers just starting, as well as merchants who began selling with Square and have grown larger over time. As our sellers grow, so do our solutions. There is a massive opportunity in front of us. We're building a significant, meaningful, and lasting business, and we are helping sellers worldwide do the same.
The Role
As a Principal Engineer (L8) on the Orders Ecosystem Platform team, you will be responsible for shaping the future of our core ordering platform and system of record for all transactions on Square. You will lead the design and architecture of large-scale distributed systems that power our order management services, which both 1P and 3P developers at Square rely on as the foundation for helping our Sellers complete their sales and grow. This is a high-impact individual contributor (IC) role that requires a deep technical background, a strong sense of ownership, and the ability to think strategically while building a culture of engineering excellence and platform thinking.
You will work closely with engineering leadership, product management, and other cross-functional teams to deliver scalable solutions that improve the efficiency, reliability, performance, and development velocity of our platform. You will also act as a mentor, providing technical leadership across teams and playing a key role in defining the technical direction for our orders ecosystem.
You Will

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of large-scale distributed systems within the orders ecosystem platform.
• Drive the technical vision and architecture for the platform, ensuring solutions are scalable, resilient, highly performant, and extensible.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including engineering, product, and operations to deliver high-quality features.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers, fostering a culture of engineering excellence.
• Conduct design and code reviews, ensuring high standards of software quality and delivery.
• Identify and solve complex technical challenges related to performance, scalability, and system reliability.
• Influence the roadmap by providing technical insights and aligning the platform's capabilities with business needs.
• Drive innovations in platform architecture, service design, and reliability improvements.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies to bring forward innovative solutions.

You Have

• 15+ years of experience in software engineering with a proven track record of designing and implementing large-scale distributed systems.
• Expertise in building scalable platforms and microservices architectures.
• Deep knowledge of backend technologies, including cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure), databases, and messaging systems.
• Strong experience in systems design, including tradeoffs and best practices for scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Experience with server API design to enable good 1P and 3P velocity on top of team platforms, as well as data synchronization between client and server and across backend services.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives from inception through execution.
• Proven ability to mentor and guide senior engineers and contribute to the overall growth of engineering teams.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of explaining complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Experience in the e-commerce domain, data, or order management systems is a plus.

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to lead the technical direction for a core platform that empowers businesses to thrive and grow and interacts with millions of end users.
• Collaborate with a world-class team of engineers and leaders.
• Influence the future of one of the most critical platforms in our ecosystem.

We're working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is an equal opportunity employer evaluating all employees and job applicants without regard to identity or any legally protected class. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, and always assess candidates on an individualized basis.
We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we're doing to build a workplace that is fair and square? Check out our I+D page .
Block will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.
Block takes a market-based approach to pay, and pay may vary depending on your location. U.S locations are categorized into one of four zones based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. The successful candidate's starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.
To find a location's zone designation, please refer to this resource . If a location of interest is not listed, please speak with a recruiter for additional information.
Zone A:
$290,000 - $435,000 USD
Zone B:
$290,000 - $435,000 USD
Zone C:
$290,000 - $435,000 USD
Zone D:
$290,000 - $435,000 USD
Every benefit we offer is designed with one goal: empowering you to do the best work of your career while building the life you want. Check out benefits at Block.
Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is a global technology company with a focus on financial services. Made up of Square, Cash App, Spiral, and TIDAL, we build tools to help more people access the economy. Square helps sellers run and grow their businesses with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions, business software, and banking services. With Cash App, anyone can easily send, spend, or invest their money in stocks or Bitcoin. Spiral (formerly Square Crypto) builds and funds free, open-source Bitcoin projects. Artists use TIDAL to help them succeed as entrepreneurs and connect more deeply with fans. TBD is building an open developer platform to make it easier to access Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies without having to go through an institution.